Strontium powder uses, benefits & side effects

Strontium is a rare element, a kind of advanced industrial synthetic material.

It can be produced in cyclotron by using toner cartridges colliding with copper powder, tonER cartrIDges colliding with cobalt powder, beryllium cartridges colliding with bromine powder, or copper cartrIDges colliding with titanium powder.

It has no corresponding ore and cannot be produced from the by-products of the ore.

Strontium is used in alloys, photocells, analytical chemistry and pyrotechnics. Strontium is widely used in various fields such as electronics, chemical industry, metallurgy, military industry, light industry, medicine and optics due to its strong X-ray radiation absorption function and unique physical and chemical properties. Strontium compounds are mostly used in the ceramics, glass and fireworks industries, with small amounts used in other industries. The application of strontium in ceramic ferrite magnets and other applications in glass make the ceramic and glass industry the most important industry for strontium terminal applications. The use of strontium nitrate in fireworks is as important to the strontium industry as the use of ceramic ferrite magnets.

Physicochemical properties of strontium powder

Strontium, a silvery-white metal, belongs to the cubic crystal system. It is a soft, silvery-white, shiny metal that easily conducts heat and electricity. When heated to the melting point in air, it burns immediately, and the flame is red.

There are four stable isotopes strontium-84, strontium-86, strontium-87 and strontium-88 in nature. Strontium-90 in nature is the fission product of uranium-235 with a half-life of 28.1 years.

The chemical properties of strontium are active. When heated to the melting point (769℃), it can be burned to produce strontium oxide (SrO), which is combined with oxygen to produce strontium peroxide (SrO2) under pressurized conditions.

Strontium is easy to combine with halogen, sulfur, selenium, etc. At room temperature, it can be combined with nitrogen to form strontium nitride (Sr3N2), and when heated, it is combined with hydrogen to form strontium hydrogen (SrH2). React violently with hydrochloric acid and dilute sulfuric acid to give off hydrogen.

Strontium reacts with water at room temperature to form strontium hydroxide and hydrogen. Strontium oxidizes to a yellow color on its surface in the air. As strontium is very reactive, it should be kept in kerosene.

Application of strontium metal

Strontium is the second least abundant of the alkaline earth metals. In nature, it mainly exists in a combined state. The main ores are lapis lazuli (SrSO4) and strontium (SrCO3).

Both in the use of carbon reduction SrS and reaction in the process of manufacturing or in the soda process, lapis lazuli is manufacturing SrCO3 starting material, as a result of strontium carbonate can make other Sr compounds, used for making ceramic permanent magnets for the purification of zinc (removal of Pb and Cd), used for manufacturing the television screen, it is one of the most important Sr compounds. Sr(NO3)2 is used for pyrotechnic devices, SrO is used for aluminum smelting, Sr and SrCl2 are used for tooth repair. Sr(OH)2 has long been used in the purification of molasse. Strontium metal used in the manufacture of alloys, photocells, lighting. Its compounds are used to make flares, fireworks, etc.

Strontium-90 can be used as a radioactive source of β-rays, which is of considerable harm to the human body, with a half-life of 25 years. It is produced by uranium in nuclear tests, and is inhaled by the human body in the form of dust, causing radioactive damage to the human body.

Strontium-87m is used in medicine because it emits gamma rays. Strontium-87m is introduced into the patient's body, and after absorption into the bone, a radiation detector can be used to determine its position in the human bone and determine the presence of abnormalities in the human body. Although strontium-87M has a half-life of only 2.8 hours, it is quickly expelled from the body, so the amount of radiation to the human body is small.

China Strontium atomic Optical Clock: Compared with the current cesium atomic clock, China strontium atomic optical clock has the potential to achieve higher accuracy, and is recognized as the next generation of time and frequency reference. The optical clock can replace the cesium fountain clock to redefine the second, which can significantly improve the positioning accuracy of satellite navigation system.